The leading women in finance honoured

The winners of the 2018 Women in Finance Awards have been announced, with several leading mortgage brokers being recognised for their achievements.

The second annual Women in Finance Awards, presented by Momentum Media in association with principal partner NAB, saw more than 700 representatives from the financial and professional services industries celebrate the work of the women making a difference in accounting, banking, insurance, financial advice, funds management, mortgage broking and superannuation.

Hosted by stand-up comedian and writer Claire Hooper at The Star in Sydney, the event revealed who, out of the 400 submissions, were the winners of the 28 individual and group performance awards for 2018.

For the second year in a row, Deslie Taylor from Mortgage Choice Ormeau took home the award for Mortgage and Finance Broker of the Year.

Speaking to The Adviser following her win last year, Ms Taylor suggested that thinking outside the box in terms of training had helped her achieve greater client outcomes.

Dr Catriona Wallace, CEO and founder of artificial intelligence assistant company Flamingo AI, took home the award for Fintech Leader of the Year, as well as the Excellence Award.

In a moving speech, Ms Wallace thanked her colleagues for their hard work and called up on stage the winner of the Chief Executive Officer of the Year award, Connie Mckeage, highlighting that they were the first female CEOs to run ASX-listed companies.

Ms Wallace also invited all of the finalists onto the stage to celebrate their successes and highlight the volume of women that are making a difference in the finance world.

Speaking at the event, Katarina Taurian, head of editorial at Momentum Media, congratulated the winners, finalists and everyone who had contributed to the success of the women in the room, adding that the finalists had recognised that their clients want “transparency, immediacy, reliability and results”, and that, “more than ever, they want trust”.

Ms Taurian added that the finalists had not only recognised that change, but that they are “driving it for their clients, [and] at all costs, they’re prioritising their clients’ expectations”.

She concluded: “Your profession is competitive and it is mighty. The only way you could make it to the top of your game is through hard work, absolute determination, sticking to your guns and getting results.

“To our finalists, you might’ve had some good fortune along the way, but you’re here tonight because of your work, your ideas and your leadership.

“Momentum Media is thrilled to recognise your success, and we congratulate you on your stellar achievements.”

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The Adviser is the number one magazine for Australia's finance and mortgage brokers. The publications delivers news, analysis, business intelligence, sales and marketing strategies, research and key target reports to an audience of professional mortgage and finance brokers